The Week That Needs to Disappear from All Records

Most of you probably saw my earlier posts from the week. Kids fighting illness, me getting sick, blah blah blah. On Wednesday, Randy said that the week was just going to be a tosser, but unfortunately it got even worse. As you will recall, Tuesday I was throwing-up (ALL DAY!). Wednesday I had the other end problem. Thursday Annelise got the diarrhea (Randy took one for the team and stayed home so I wouldn't have to use another sick day). Poor Danny had to go to Annelise's day care by himself because he doesn't have school all week. He was pretty sad over that one! Yesterday afternoon when I picked Danny up I noticed his eye was a bit red in the corner. This morning Danny got a pink-eye diagnosis! And the whole week got capped off nicely when our one and only car broke down in the rain (while I was driving the kids) at 6:30 tonight! Randy is still off dealing with the car stuff, so that we could take a taxi home. Who knows how late he will be and how much money this could cost! What a winner of a week. Can we have a do-over?

I've Given In

The kids seem to be doing well, but at 1:20 this morning I gave in. Not the "real" flu, just a yucky stomach bug. Unfortunately it is one of only two work days I have each week, so here goes a sick day! The good thing is that the kids were already scheduled for Day Care, so I'm home alone and (mostly) in bed (with some trips to pray to the porcelain god, and well... I had to check my e-mail, which led to my blog, which means I should probably go rest).

Isn't this true?

Here is something someone e-mailed me today. Take a look and enjoy:




Oh, that I won't always sound like a broken record!

Let Me Try This

Annelise used to say "more," but lately the word has morphed into something that sounds like "moren." (NOT moron, although close!) Just like Annelise used to say "more," Danny used to use "please" with us. We are happy to notice that at school and with other kids and parents he is still pretty good, but he has gotten out of that habit at home. The last week we have really been working on this with him.

Today when we were driving home from Annapolis, I was passing snacks to the kids in the backseat while Randy was driving. So the kids were asking for more crackers. Annelise was saying "moren", and I would say "please?" and she would respond with a "please." Then Danny says, "I want more crackers." And I use my usual tactic with him... silence. "I want more crackers," he says again. Randy says, "You're missing a word." Danny pauses and then says quietly, "Moren?"

Randy and I laughed over that for a long time! It works for Annelise, why shouldn't it work for Danny?

Fun Morning

Randy took the morning off, even though the University was open (they celebrated President's Day somewhere in the week between Christmas and New Year's!), and we all went to the Chesapeake Children's Museum in Annapolis. I had been there with the kids before, but this was Randy's first visit. It is on a much, much, much smaller scale than the Children's Museum in Baltimore. But we all had fun looking at the animals, playing dress-up, working in the dentist's office and playing outside. Speaking of outside... 73 degrees today! Feels like Southern California! I'm trying to forget that exactly one week ago I woke up at 7am and it was 17 degrees! We're supposed to get light snow later this week, so I'm just going to make sure and enjoy today. It was so nice to be outside, I got some pictures while the kids were playing.


The kids are still fighting stuff, but no fevers or sluggishness this morning. We just wanted to get them out of the house for a little while!

Fighting Something

And this is Danny and me at 5 pm.


He seems to be fighting something and needed to be held. Of course he fell asleep while laying on me, and I was pinned. It was a good time to read, I guess! What really gets me is how big he is. Neither of these pictures are too great, but check out how long he is!

Tired Out

This is what the rest of my family looks like at 3:30pm on a Sunday afternoon.


We had a bit of a rough night, an early/busy morning at church, and Annelise had a short nap. Sesame Street and a comfy couch provide a good solution! (I cut it out of the picture, but next to Danny is a large pile of laundry that needs folding. Oh fun!)

Something About Mary

*photo courtesy of CBS

I do love my TV. With the writer's strike I have definitely been watching less, but I do still watch a couple of reality shows. One show I always watch is Survivor. Yes, Randy and I are the fans that contribute to it airing for SIXTEEN seasons (I can hardly believe that). The only season I didn't watch was when they were in Africa.

The season premiere aired one week ago, and for those of you that watch Survivor it always takes a few weeks to get the new characters straitened out. So this week when I was watching I started to notice someone who looked familiar. I turned to Randy and said that she looks familiar. And then I saw that her name was Mary. "Randy, that really does looks like Mary Sartain." He rolls his eyes. Who can blame him? What are the chances? Mary is a cousin of my best childhood friend. She was younger, but we were often at the same parties, weddings, church events, etc. Then we ended up going to the same small high school together.

Finally, I stopped the show (I have that luxury) and went to the internet. Sure enough... little Mary Sartain on Survivor. Cute, flirty, and grown up. I guess that cute and flirty contributed to her demise last night. Bye-bye Mary!

V-Day Breakfast

I try to do a special breakfast for the kids on the smaller holidays. Here are the pictures from this morning:



Because it is a teaching day for both Randy and I, the menu was simple: frozen waffles, canned peaches and milk.

Look and see what I made for Randy and the kids!


And a couple of pictures of the kids (looking slightly mischievous):

Happy Valentine's Day

You would think I have been up to really great things the last 5 weeks that I haven't posted. Not really... just normal life with a few ups (swim lessons and socializing) and some downs (lots of winter sickness).

Danny and I did make Valentine's cards for his classmates and my students. Aren't they bright and fun? I love that they aren't your traditional Valentine colors. Have a great day!